U.S.S. Charon
“No Time for Time – Part 2”
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Lamont slowly opened his eyes. For several moments he could see nothing. Staring into the void he briefly wondered if he had survived. Was this death? It sure did not seem like heaven and yet did not as yet fit descriptions of hell. He tried to move only to be hit by a sudden wave of electric pain that radiated down his arm. So he was alive… with an injured, possibly broken arm. His head throbbed, but from what he could not tell. His ears were also ringing from recent events he could scarcely remember. There was a message from engineering. He remembered shouting something, horrific noise, a massive jolt, and then nothing.
Pushing himself upwards with his other arm, Lamont sat up coughing as he did so. The bridge seemed to be filled with an invisible haze of acrid smoke. The repugnant scent of burned insulation and wiring hung thick in the air. The lights were off. The only illumination came from several flickering computer terminals and the occasional shower of electrical sparks from unseen damage.
After several moments of shaking off his confusion and pain his eyes adjusted to the near total blackness around him. Reaching out he found he was against the wall housing the ship’s main viewer. How he had gotten here was unclear. Had he been thrown here? He attempted to stand and despite several bruises and soreness found his legs mostly intact. Fumbling through the darkness, Lamont made his way toward the captain’s chair finally finding it. His hands sought out the emergency kit beneath it and within moments he had a light which he quickly switched on.
He almost wished he hadn’t. The bridge crew lay unmoving tossed about the bridge like dolls in a playhouse that had been kicked over by an angry child. Moving toward the helm officer she had managed to retain her place as had the operations officer. Lamont gently shook the officer and to his relief she came around.
“Are you alright ensign”, he asked.
“I..I think so”, she answered with a confused, uncertain tone.
“Give yourself a moment.”
Moving on Lamont checked on the ops officer who was bleeding from a cut on his head, but otherwise appeared to be in fair shape. Ian then moved back to where he had found himself earlier. Lieutenant Hawke was upright and shaking off the effects of whatever had happened to them.
“Lieutenant”, Lamont asked kneeling down, “you alright?”
“I have an awful headache like someone clubbed me…what happened?”
“I don’t know”, Lamont replied looking around. “It looks like the ship may still be intact though given the ride I suspect there are many injured. Can you move?”
“Yes sir…I believe so.”
Hawke stood and after a few moments upright seemed to be able to shake off the ill effects.
“No time for rest lieutenant. I’ll see to the wounded. For now, get what crew you can and see if you can determine our situation. First priority should be life support and ship’s status. We need to determine just how bad things are. If we can get some light in here that would help as well.”
“Sir, you are the ranking officer. The duty falls to you sir.”
Ian sighed. “My commander pips have several layers of dust on them lieutenant. You know the ship and its systems better than I. Work with those who are able and let’s find out where we stand. We must determine our status and assess damage. We can discuss command protocol later.”
“Aye sir.” The lieutenant moved off and quietly began issuing orders to able bodied crewmen. The young man was holding up fairly well given the circumstances. Lamont wondered how long that would last. He had lived through combat and war on the bridge of a starship. He had seen its horrors as a young lieutenant and later as a lieutenant commander and third officer. He had given up that past life to pursue peace and yet even so he again found himself on a starship in a sea of risk, danger, and hardship. It was as if his past had come back to haunt him…
With more bridge crew up and moving, Lamont assisted the injured until he spotted a body in a corner near the turbolift door at the front of the bridge. Armed with only hand lamps, surveying the bridge was a time consuming process. He instantly recognized the crewman as Counselor Dwellon. Rushing over, Ian knelt down and carefully rolled the ensign onto her back. She seemed to have some bruises and carpet burns on her face, but appeared otherwise intact.
“Counselor? Counselor Dwellon?” He waited for a response.
[ To Be Continued… ]
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Ambassador Ian Lamont
Diplomatic Advisor
Ensign Vae Dwellon
Chief Counselor
Lt. Garrett Hawke (NPC)
Delta Shift Duty Officer
